


Sleepover at Etho's

by thatgirlfromasgard



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Canon Levels of Crack, Comfort, Fluff, Gen, POV Second Person, Reader-Insert, Stargazing, almost a sickfic, blatant self indulgence, look sometimes a writer just wants to pretend to be friends with people, sleepover, the idea came to me in a dream
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:47:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28579230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatgirlfromasgard/pseuds/thatgirlfromasgard
Summary: You want to visit one of your friends for a nice evening, but things go a little different.Also known as "I just wanna hang out with Etho, is that too much to ask?"
Relationships: Etho & Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 34





	Sleepover at Etho's

**Author's Note:**

> You will encounter "Y/n" in various places. Just pretend your name is written there instead, alright?

You opened your eyes not entirely knowing where you were. You knew that your head hurt, though, throbbing in time with your heartbeat. The sounds of the jungle were loud around you, and the sun beat down mercilessly on those parts not covered by the thick canopy. The air was almost chokingly thick with humidity, and you felt sweat drip down your everything in steady streams. You weren’t used to this, not in the slightest, and you simply knew you couldn’t stay there. You had to move, had to go somewhere else.

Where, though, that was the question. Everything looked the same, and if the parrots had the proper direction hidden in their song, you weren’t able to understand. There wasn’t a whole lot you could do besides picking a direction and starting to walk.

And walk you did, through dense bushes and past steep cliffs. More than once you almost fell down in a place where deep caves suddenly opened up to the surface, but you kept managing to stop just in time. You had enough problems as it was, without such things as broken legs added into the mix. You had no food, no water, and the various small lakes you came across didn’t look safe to drink from in the slightest. Algae and duckweed spanned the surfaces, and swarms of mosquitos hung above them, almost waiting for you to come close enough to snack from.

Still the sun kept beating down on you, and you felt your energy sapping away faster and faster as you walked past what looked like the same tree for the fifth time already. Much as you didn’t want to admit it, you were lost. Horribly, horribly lost in a jungle you didn’t know. Despite that, you knew you wouldn’t get anywhere if you just stopped walking there, and you pushed on, further and further.

Your body gave out by the eighth time you came across the cliff that looked weirdly like a cat. You fell to the jungle floor, feeling the soft moss and grass underneath you as sunlight filtered down through the leaves. You hoped for a breeze, for something to cool down with, or for something to eat, to get your energy back a little. Nothing magically appeared, though.

You wiped the sweat of your face for the umpteenth time before closing your eyes for a moment. It would be fine, right? You could take a nap for a moment. Just a short nap. You told yourself you would wake up again before nightfall, and you would just continue walking then, when it would be a little bit cooler.

As you drifted away into the arms of exhaustion, you could swear you heard footsteps in the distance.

\---

Your dreams were strange. You heard a voice speaking, but you didn’t know what it was saying. You saw dark greens and blues as well as white, and you felt a gentle swaying moment that gave the idea you were on a boat, despite seeing canopy high above your head. It stopped suddenly, though, the canopy disappearing and various colours and textures taking its place. It didn’t make sense to you what you were seeing, not in the slightest. Neither did the periodic sounds of minecarts, or the sound of a llama bleating. Then all you felt was soft and cool, the swaying stopping. The canopy overhead had returned, though, this time filled with pink flowers. What it meant… Well. It was a dream, right?

\---

There was still light around you as you stirred again. You heard fire crackling, and it took you a few moments to realise that perhaps you hadn’t quite been dreaming. The ceiling above you had leafy branches spanning over it, interspersed with large pink flowers. There was water gently streaming somewhere below you, and a minecart going around the walls of the room caused soft gusts of wind.

You found yourself blinking, still not sure as to where you were, although the surroundings felt familiar. You weren’t in the jungle anymore, or at least, you didn’t think so. The air seemed ever so slightly tinner and less humid here, and the heat was less oppressive. That being said, did it even matter? Wherever you were, it certainly looked as though you were in a place made by people, instead of something made by nature.

You sat up slowly, but not slowly enough to prevent a wet bit of cloth from falling from your forehead. Before you could properly look around, though, you heard a familiar voice from somewhere to the side.

“Oh, thank goodness, you’re awake! I was starting to get worried there, Y/n. The jungle can be a nasty place, yep yep!”

Your eyes flicked over to where the sound had come from, and they found a white-haired man, most of his face hidden behind a mask. He was sat in a lounge chair on top of a large lily pad, a book in his hands. How he had gotten there, you weren’t sure, but you felt almost relieved to recognise him.

“Etho…? Where… How…?” you started, unable to find the words to express yourself. Your head still throbbed, and saying things wasn’t helping an awful lot in that aspect.

“You’re in the Monstrosity. I got a little worried when you didn’t arrive when you said you would, so I went out looking for you,” he answered as he put what looked like a flower petal between the pages of his book. Then he stood up, the lily pad wobbling precariously under his feet. For a short moment he seemed to consider the distance between where he was and the wooding flooring he was on. Then he jumped, reaching out to grab the edge, and fell in the water as he missed it completely.

You couldn’t help but chuckle as you saw it happen, and Etho surfaced again, his everything dripping wet.

“That was intentional!” he called out as he swam towards one of the beams supporting the flooring and climbed up there. There was a smile in his voice, and you knew that it most definitely _hadn’t_ been intentional. Not that it mattered, though. It had made you laugh, and you could momentarily forget your headache.

“Suuuuuuure…” you muttered. As he climbed, you picked up the bit of wet cloth again, holding it against the bit where your head hurt most. It was nice and cool, and you let out a sigh of relief. It felt a whole lot better like that.

A few moments later, Etho plopped down on the edge of the flooring, looking straight at you as he leaned back.

“So, how did you get lost anyway, Y/n? You’ve been here before, after all.”

You rubbed your forehead as you thought back. You still remembered entering the jungle, and you remembered waking up on the ground, but everything between it was one headachy mess.

“I’m not sure. Must’ve… Must’ve hit my head. The sun wasn’t kind.” Your answer made perfect sense to you, but perhaps not to him. Then again, you knew that Etho was good at things that barely made sense. He’d figure it out.

“I’m not sure if sunstroke counts as hitting your head.”

Or not.

“No like… On a branch or something.”

“Aaaaah, yep, yep, that makes more sense.” He spent a moment wringing out his hair, before shaking it around like a dog. It didn’t help much, except if his goal had been to make himself look more of an anime mess than he already was. His hair spiked into all directions, and combined with the outfit… the words forming in your head were ‘cosplay wig accident’.

“Actually, where are my manners? Do you want something to drink, or to eat?” He looked over at you, and while you wanted to say you weren’t hungry, your stomach disagreed, rumbling loudly before you could answer.

“I think that’s a yes,” Etho chuckled. He stood up and stretched, ignoring the puddle that had formed where he had been sitting. “Any preferences?”

You thought for a moment, thinking of the options.

“Just… Uh… Canadian cuisine? Or bread. Perhaps some plain bread might be better, first. And, uh… The coldest water you can get me. Headache, you know?” You smiled weakly at him, and you could already see a sparkle of mischief in his eyes, though it was mostly drowned out by worry.

“Alrighty! Be right back!” He waved at you, then ran off to some other place in his base, leaving a trail of water droplets in his wake. At the very least you probably wouldn’t get lost finding him if you needed him. That being said, this _was_ still _Etho_ , you were never quite sure what to expect with him besides a bafflingly good time.

\---

Your headache had faded a tiny bit when Etho returned, a plate filled with something in one hand, and a large cup in the other. It seemed like he had put on dry clothes too, and his hair was back in its normal model. He went and sat opposite you, legs crossed under him, before handing over the food.

“So, growing up in Canada, I’ve learned a few things out of necessity, like spearfishing for salmon, or smoking said salmon. Very important skills if you ask me. Salmon is really good if you’re stuck out in the wild and you’re being chased by a bear. Good as food too,” he smiled, and you had to wonder what he had made you. Something with salmon, apparently. “But you wanted plain bread, so I got you plain bread.”

Or not.

You rolled your eyes and chuckled, but accepted the plate anyway. On it were a few slices of bread, as you had expected, though they weren’t as plain as you had thought they would be. There were some seeds baked into it, both in the centre and along the crusts. Besides that, you could feel warmth coming from it, together with the smell of freshly baked bread, as though it had only just come out of the oven. So far, so good, judging by the fact that your mouth was already watering.

“So, did you learn a thing or two about water too?” you asked, eyeing the cup with a small dose of suspicion.

“Of course, of course! Can’t learn to fish if you don’t know the waters, now can you? So, I was getting you that water, and I thought to myself, ‘How cold does Y/n want it to be?’ And I remembered you wanted the coldest water I could get, and then I realised that ice counts as water, because there can be fish in there. Of course, the question then becomes ‘where can I get the coldest ice’, which obviously is at the centre of an iceberg. You can probably guess what I did next.”

He held the cup in such a way that you couldn’t see what was inside it, and you cocked your head to the side.

“You… went to the centre of an iceberg?” you asked, unsure if that was the conclusion he wanted you to make. It sure _sounded_ cold.

“Nope! I got you a cup of snow instead. I assumed you also wanted to be able to actually _drink_ the water somewhere soon, you know?” He chuckled and handed you the cup too.

“Well, _yeah_ , that… Yeah. Can’t drink ice, now can I?”

You tried taking a sip from the cup, and what little molten snow there already was felt really nice in your mouth. Then you held the cup against the side of your head for a moment, enjoying the extra cool against your skin. Yes, this would work.

“So, if snow is considered water… Tell me about those fish living in it,” you said jokingly. Etho nodded gravely.

“Asking the big questions, are we? Well, if you insist…”

\---

You and Etho chatted on for a while as you slowly ate the bread and drank from the snow. He told you all about some of the stranger bits of wildlife he had encountered while he was younger, and it was difficult to discern which parts were true and which parts were grossly exaggerated of just completely made up. He told everything with the same kind of intonation, with the same kind of enthusiasm, but truth or fiction, you didn’t mind. His voice was soothing to listen to, and over time, you started feeling a whole lot better, your jungle predicaments almost forgotten.

What you didn’t quite forget, however, was the time. It had become dark outside, and moonlight shone in through the various large doors in the room. You sighed, as it meant you would have to make the whole trek back while monsters lurked all around. You shared the concern with Etho, but he just chuckled.

“You know, Y/n, if you wanted a sleepover, you could’ve just asked instead of hurting yourself.”

He didn’t sound mad in the slightest, and you found yourself facepalming.

“Well, I mean, a sleepover sounds like fun, but it wasn’t my original plan, believe it or not.”

Etho just chuckled more.

“I’ll get the sleeping bags up to the roof, then. I got a firepit there, I think you’d like it.”

You didn’t even think to doubt his architectural choices. Rooftop firepits weren’t the wackiest thing he had made, and you knew it.

“Sounds good!” You got to your feet, a bit unsteady at first thanks to having sat down for quite a while, but it got better when you set a few steps. “Go get your sleeping bags, then, go get your snacks! I’ll get that fire going.” You grinned at him as he realised what you just said.

“Did you just-“

“Steal your catchphrase? I sure did!”

In return, he just squinted at you, before rolling his eyes and giving you directions to the roof, because of _course_ you had to go through basically his whole base in order to go up one floor. This time, you _did_ question his architectural choices, but only a little bit.

Without saying much more, you started moving, taking in the views of the Monstrosity as you came past them. A lot had changed since you had last been there, entire sections of it seemingly having sprung up overnight. It had become even more colourful than you remembered, but the choice of building materials was still just as special. After all, who else than Etho would think of using cartography tables as a decorative trim, who else would use noteblocks or looms or honey? It was a well-organised mess, that also looked really good, and you appreciated it.

You went up a staircase, though a room decorated with End crystals, and out through the door Etho had told you to go through. Much to your surprise, you found yourself in a rooftop garden, surrounded by flowers and leaves. Straight ahead was a pergola, and you could see the firepit all the way at the end on the left side. That was where you headed, and you plopped down basically in the pit.

There, you started building up a campfire, starting with smaller bits of wood, before putting on a larger log, and then some more smaller bits again. The kindling went in last, and you looked at your build with pride. It wasn’t like traditional campfires, with you basically just building it on feeling alone, but you were sure it would work, and you were sure Etho could appreciate the shape.

It was happily burning away when he actually got to the firepit, a bunch of blankets in one arm, his hands filled with bits of food and drink.

“Quite the pyromaniac, aren’t you? Guess you aren’t overheated anymore, then,” he joked, pointing at how close to the fire you were sitting. You just stuck out your tongue.

“So what if I am? It’s nice here.” You poked the fire a little, shifting some of the wood around, your eyes focussed on the flames and the sparks coming out of it, a lazy smile on your face.

“You do you, I suppose.”

You heard him rustling around behind you, putting down the blankets as well as the snacks. Then he sat down on his own blanket, leaning back to look at the sky.

“You know, the sky is really clear tonight, you can see all the stars!” he said, and you found yourself looking up to see he was right. You were even quite sure you could see part of the milky way if you properly focussed, and your smile widened. You liked looking at the stars almost as much as you liked building campfires, but the combination… That was the real thing. _Especially_ when you could do those things together with friends.

“Well then, mister Grew-up-in-rural-Canada, can you point out some constellations?” you asked. “Actually, you know what? No. Let’s just make some up and figure out the story behind them.”

For a moment, he remained silent, almost as though he disagreed with your idea.

“Hmm… Well, Y/n, have you ever heard about the Bees constellation?”

You frowned.

“The bees…?”

“Yep! The Bees! It’s that bit of sky over there, or… no, wait, it’s there! They migrate and swap places with the Wasps every now and then.” Etho shrugged, as though it made total sense that stars would move around. You, of course, nodded gravely, and just went along with it.

“So why do they do that, exactly? Do they hate each other, or…?”

“Nah, they just really suck at coordinating where they’re gonna meet up, so both constellations continuously are where the other is not.”

“I see, I see… Well, I hope they’re going to get their act together at some point, then, so they can have that meeting.” You smiled as you poked the fire some more. Yes, this was why you were friends with Etho. Just these bits of nonsensical chatter, interspersed with actual life lessons and genuine care. You leaned back, looking at this group of stars or that, spinning up the strangest stories and myths that could be behind the shapes in the sky.

Time passed faster than you wanted, and slowly but surely the fire started to dim as you felt yourself grow more and more tired again, despite your nap that afternoon. In the end, you were yawning so badly that you had very little objection when Etho told you you should probably go to sleep.

“Mmm…. I probably should, yeah,” you muttered as you crawled out of the firepit and wrapped your blanket around yourself. It had been a good evening, better than you had hoped when you had started your journey that morning. He didn’t do the same thing, not quite yet, but that was okay. You knew he was a night owl, and you were not about to call out his sleeping habits, not when he looked more awake than you felt.

You repositioned yourself a little bit so your feet could be closer to the dying fire, and you curled up into a ball.

One last time, you yawned.

“Goodnight, Etho.”

“Goodnight, Y/n”

**Author's Note:**

> written in one go because i said so. i hope you enjoyed!


End file.
